Manual Scavengers - 'Ghosts' In The City

Manual scavenging, which is a bane for the human race, is rampant in the national capital. In New Delhi's Rohini area, looking at manual scavengers dive deep into gutters and drains, I was horrified.

Manual scavenging, which is a bane for the human race, is rampant in the national capital. &nbsp

New Delhi: 32, that's the number of manual scavengers that work in the national capital. This astounding number has come from a survey done by the Delhi government. Not believing this number, I decided to do a reality check. Lo & behold, the ground reality is diagonally opposite to the government survey.

Manual scavenging, which is a bane for the human race, is rampant in the national capital. In New Delhi's Rohini area, looking at manual scavengers dive deep into gutters and drains, I was suddenly reminded of Mahatma Gandhi's forgotten advice, "Everyone must be his own scavenger".

Say this to those who employ manual scavengers regularly to clean their drains and you will see them cringe. 65-year-old Radhe took up manual scavenging four years ago due to a paucity of work, two years later, his son followed suit.

It is something that they do not out of choice but out of compulsion. Radhe, a manual scavenger said, "Pet ke khatir ye kaam karna padha, kahin aur kaam nahin mil raha tha. mera parivaar bhook ke maare marr jata agar ye kaam nahin karta to" (I took up this work 4 years ago because no one was giving me any work. I had to feed my family, we would have died otherwise).

Barely 20-year-old, Radhe's son Ajay also took up scavenging because he was left with no other option. Ajay said, "Koi aur kaam nahin deta. bahut badbu aati hai, kya kren karna padhta hai" (we don't get employed anywhere else, it stinks a lot but we don't have any other option).

As I stood next to the sewage heap, I realised the stench was unbearable and that prompted me to ask three young men who were manually cleaning the sewage the difficulties they faced doing their job. The youngest among them, Shakti, looked at me with moist eyes and replied - Kya apko lagta hai hum ye kaam khushi se karte hain? Aap kitni der khadi reh payengi yahan? (Do you think we do this because we like it? How long can others stand near this heap?).

His reply stung like a bee, not able to reply, I turned my gaze to Radhe, the eldest among them. He was piling sewage atop the already lying heap, continuing his work without meeting my eyes, he told me about the friends he had lost in this line of work. They died after being exposed to poisonous gases that emanate from these drains and sewers. Later he spelled out the difficulties he faces.

He lamented the fact that despite repeated requests, no safety gear was provided to them neither by state nor by the Central government and also highlighted how negligent civic authorities have been towards their plight.

I told them about the fact that the Delhi government believed that there were only 32 manual scavengers working in the national capital. On hearing this, they chuckled and the youngest worker, Shakti, stopped his work and stepped out of the sewer. He then asked me to visit the contractors' office barely a kilometre away from where they were working to know the number of people actually involved in this trade. Before I left for the collectors' office, they all summed up manual scavenging for me - highly unsafe, pitifully paid & utterly thankless.

They said in chorus, "Hum to ginti mein hi nahin aate madam, jis din hum ginti mein aayenge us din sarkar aur desh ke logon ko manna padega ki wo humse ye kaam karwate hain, aur ye baat koi manna nahin chahte. isiliye hum na kabhi the, aur na hi kabhi honge" (we who clean their drains often live like ghosts among the living, because the day they start counting us they will have to admit to the atrocities they have done and that it something that the well to do, including the government wouldn't want to do).

After saying this, two of them jumped back into the sewer to finish their work and I picked up my bag, turning back I saw them working hard, the scene reminded me of childhood days being brought up in a Brahmin household, my elders often used to say - safai wale ko bulana padega drain block ho gaya hai, safai wali ko chuna mat galti se bhi (in those days manual scavengers were considered untouchables).

Fast forward to 2018 and I found nothing much has changed. In my childhood my elders used to consider them untouchable, now even the government considers them the same.

Manual Scavengers - 'Ghosts' In The CityDescription:Manual scavenging, which is a bane for the human race, is rampant in the national capital. In New Delhi's Rohini area, looking at manual scavengers dive deep into gutters and drains, I was horrified.Times Now